This morning started out as just another day at the office…  I had a full backlog of “to-do’s” that were all part of playing catch-up after a busy NAMM week.  But along about 10am the mailman arrived and neatly camouflaged in a brown bubble envelope was a promotional copy of Joe Bonamassa’s BLACK ROCK CD.

CANCEL ALL APPOINTMENTS!

BLACK ROCK was recorded at, and named for, Black Rock Studios in Santorini, Greece.

“With this album, we wanted to explore a “world feeling”, and this was the inspiration behind going to record in Greece and using some of the best Greek musicians to add a little flavor to a couple of the tracks.  But it’s by no means a “world” album.  We wanted Joe’s usual youthful and energetic tones to play alongside the worldly vibes of the Greek bouzouki and clarino,” said Kevin Shirley, producer (Black Crowes, Aerosmith, Led Zepplin and most recently “The Ballad of John Henry”).

Bonamassa added: “It’s the kind of record Kevin and I wanted to make.  We needed to rock again a bit like on my first album”.  And rocking is exactly what they did.

Joe scored big-time when he signed up blues legend B.B. King for a duet on a rendition of “Night Life” whigh originally appeared on King’s 1967 album, “Blues is King”.

Other tracks include Jeff Beck’s “Spanish Boots”, Leonard Cohen’s poetic “Bird on a Wire” (which I have had on auto-repeat for about an hour…), Otis Rush’s “Three Times A Fool”, Bobby Parker’s “Steal Your Heart Away”, Blind Boy Fuller’s “Baby, You Gotta Change Your Mind”, John Hiatt’s “I Know A Place” and James Clark’s “Look Over Yonder’s Wall” as well as the Bonamassa originals “Quarryman’s Lament”, “When The Fire Hits The Sea”, Wandering Earth”, “Athens to Anthens” and “Blue and Evil”.

Joe Bonamassa has been on quite a roll over the past 2 years with the release of the double CD “Live From Nowhere in Particular”, followed by “The Ballad of John Henry” and then the double DVD “Live From the Royal Albert Hall”.  He was named “Best Blues Guitarist” in Guitar Player Magazine’s 2009 Readers Choice Awards for the 3rd consecutive year and recently awarded the “Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award” at the U.K.’s prestigious Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards.  Guitar World Magazine dubbed Bonamassa “The Blues Rock Titan” and finally… (demonstrating the true measure of musical success in the 21st Century), his single “Lonesome Road Blues” is a part of Guitar Hero V’s New Blues Masters Track Pack!

Even with all of that, Joe is not taking a break.  BLACK ROCK demonstrates truly ground-breaking territory for the young blues legend by integrating international sounds with sizzling blues and good old fiery rock n’ roll.

BLACK ROCK will be in stores on March 23, 2010 and you won’t want to miss it!

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